Vivaldi - Concerti per il flauto traversier – Alexis Kossenko, Arte Dei Suonatori

 

Release Date: 01/11/2011 Label: Alpha Number of discs: 1 Composer: Antonio Vivaldi Performer: Alexis Kossenko, Arte Dei Suonatori  cd info/ buy

Review:

This is an absolutely splendid release and a must-have for all Vivaldi lovers as well as for all who appreciate vibrant playing in truly historically informed performances. French-born flutist Alexis Kossenko is an award-winning artist who devotes his talent more or less equally to both the modern and Baroque flute. In the former capacity, he has performed under the direction of Mstislav Rostropovitch and Valery Gergiev and recorded the Nielsen flute concerto with Justus Frantz and the Philharmonie der Nationen. In the latter capacity, he has partnered Baroque specialists such as Richard Egarr, Andrew Manze, and Catherine Bott, and has performed under John Eliot Gardiner, Philippe Herreweghe, Skip Sempé, Jean-Claude Malgoire, Jos van Immerseel, Jaap ter Linden, and Fabio Biondi. This is not my first encounter with Kossenko and the Polish Arte Dei Suonatori ensemble. Kossenko’s playing of flute concertos by C. P. E. Bach are simply astonishing and a must-buy. If icing on the cake be needed, it comes in the form of a thick French and English booklet containing notes on each individual concerto, detailed information on the instruments employed, and several pages of high-quality photographs. Viva Vivaldi, and kudos to Kossenko, Arte Dei Suonatori, and Alpha for a beautiful recording.

 

flac, booklet thank you Thomas!

Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra - A Baroque Feast

 

Release Date: 10/22/2002 Label: Analekta Number of discs: 1 Composer: Various Performer: Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra cd info/ buy

Review:

Even people who don't normally listen to classical music seem to love the singable melodies and effervescent rhythms that characterize much of the Baroque orchestral repertoire. Certain works have become favorites of television commercial and film producers, and chamber orchestras everywhere endlessly program selections from Handel's Water Music, Bach's Brandenburg Concertos, Vivaldi's Four Seasons, Albinoni's Adagio, and various works by Purcell, Locatelli, and Marcello--along with that dreadful and highly overrated "canon" by that guy whose name begins with "P". Most of these composers (thankfully not Pachelbel) are represented here, on this perfectly fine if just a little too-familiar program that features Handel's Arrival of the Queen of Sheba, Purcell's Suite from Abdelazar, and Vivaldi's A minor concerto for two violins Op. 3 No. 8. To the producers' credit, the disc also includes some less-commonly-heard selections such as Handel's lovely Concerto for harp in B-flat major and Marcello's Oboe concerto in D minor. We're also treated to the richly scored, melodically engaging Op. 1 No. 8 Concerto grosso in F minor by Locatelli and to a lovely Sinfonia by Bach (from his Cantata No. 42). Overall, the program has a musical coherence and a pleasing sonic quality that encourages easy and pleasant listening. Of course, the Toronto-based Tafelmusik, one of North America's two or three top-rank period-style orchestras, delivers these Baroque staples with interpretive authority and impressive yet thankfully unadorned technique, giving careful attention to line in the slow movements and keeping rhythms and articulation crisp in the fast ones. The solo playing is first-rate (particularly the harp and oboe), and the sound gives desirable presence and clarity to the varied instrumental configurations. If you're looking for a very well-played, intelligently programmed recording of attractive Baroque orchestral music, look no further.--David Vernier

 

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Il Gardellino - Concerti d'Amore - Telemann, Vivaldi, Graupner

 

Release Date: 01/25/2005 Label: Accent Number of discs: 1 Composer: Telemann, Vivaldi, Graupner Performer:  Il Gardellino cd info/ buy

Review:

Marcel Ponseele is generally considered one of the foremost Baroque oboists of his time: conductor Philippe Herreweghe has called him the finest Baroque oboist in the world. Ponseele is also a conductor of international renown. Like many talented instrumentalists from the latter half of the 20th century, he often conducts while performing as soloist in concert. He has made numerous recordings with Il Gardellino in these dual roles, particularly in the music of J.S. Bach. Ponseele's repertoire extends not only to other Baroque icons, like Antonio Vivaldi, Georg  Frideric Handel, and Georg Philipp Telemann, but to lesser known figures like Johann Gottlieb Graun, Christoph Schaffrath, Ernst Eichner, and many others. Marcel Ponseele is internationally known as Baroque specialist, and is often invited as a soloist to perform with great orchestra's or to participate on different recordings. Together with Jan De Winne and Shalev Ad-El, he founded in 1988 the Baroque ensemble Il Gardellino, of which he's the artistic leader. Over the years he has become strongly identified with the group.

 

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